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Trail of Mists
The first stages of the Trail of Mists were established circa -3150 DR, and the Forgotten Folk have expanded this network of ethereal paths in fits and starts through the present day. Although it serves much the same function as a series gate, the Trail of Mists is actually a series of fixed paths through the Border Ethereal. One can only step onto the Trail of Mists at certain fixed points across Faerûn, known as nexus points. A would-be "mistwalker" must know the precise location of the nexus point, as both magic and psionics have proven ineffective in pinpointing them, and move some part of his physical form through it. To access the Trail of Mists, the nexus point employed must also be wholly cloaked in some type of three-dimensional magical illusion, such as that created by a phantasmal force or improved phantasmal force spell. The exact nature of the illusion created is irrelevant, although most spellcasters create the illusion of some type of portal. Finally, a would-be mistwalker must be carrying a specific type of gemstone, and the exact type required varies from nexus point to nexus point. Once on the Trail of Mists, a mistwalker can travel along one of the trails of thick mist linked to that nexus point until he reaches the next nexus point. All nexus points have at least one trail leading away through the Border Ethereal, and some have as many as a dozen alternatives. Upon reaching a nexus point, a mistwalker is instantly shifted back to the Prime Material Plane, and he must reenter the nexus point normally, subject to all the conditions listed above, to resume movement along the Trail of Mists. While walking along the Trail of Mists, a mistwalker can see objects in the Prime Material Plane as if through a thick mist. The Trail of Mists never seems to pass through physical objects on the Prime Material Plane or rise off the ground. The Trail of Mists simply reroutes itself (and anything on it) around any new physical impediments from the Prime Material Plane that are moved in its apparent path. It is not possible to move even one step backward along the Trail of Mists or step off it in any way, nor is it possible to interact in any way with the neighboring Border Ethereal. Likewise, creatures of the Ethereal Plane cannot interact with mistwalkers in any way, although both can see and hear each other if in close physical proximity. If two parties are moving in opposite directions along the same branch of the Trail of Mists, the branch automatically forks and then rejoins so that the two groups appear to pass each other at a distance of 20 feet or so. Mistwalkers can cover as many miles (relative to the Prime Material Plane) per hour as they have points of Intelligence, although it is possible to move more slowly if desired. Groups that wish to stay together cannot move faster than the slowest being among them, as it is not possible to carry or pull someone along the Trail of Mists. Today the Trail of Mists crisscrosses much of the northern High Forest and links with gnome communities, the ruins of older gnome settlements, and various cities of other races scattered across western and northern Faerûn. It has been extended time and time again by gnome illusionists, the most famous of whom was undoubtedly Fitzmilliyun Sparkledrim, the legendary creator of the Castle of Illusion ere the fall of Ascalhorn. In addition to those that lie within the depths of the High Forest, one or more nexus points of the Trail of Mists lie within the ruins of Dolblunde (north and east of Waterdeep), the ruins of Hellgate Keep (dating back to the days of Ascalhorn), and the ruins of Myth Glaurach (detailed in Mintiper’s Chapbook #4: Myth Glaurach), as well as amidst the Castle of Illusion, the Trollbark Forest, the Forgotten Forest, and the Trielta Hills. Another nexus is said to lie amidst the long-lost Shinglefell Gnome Burrow, but the exact location of Fitzmilliyun’s birthplace has been lost even to the Forgotten Folk, suggesting that at least one branch of the Trail of Mists is no longer connected with the rest of the network of paths. Gnome settlements that encompass or lie near a nexus point of the Trail of Mists include Anga Vled (west of Elturel), Beldenshyn (along the Winding Water), Elbencort (east of Riatavin), Forharn (in the White Peaks north of the Ride), the Friendly Arm (an inn on the trade road from Baldur’s Gate to Beregost), Hardbuckler (near the Trielta Hills), Skultan (east of Daerlun), Stormpemhauder (in the depths of the Spiderhaunt Woods), Tempus’s Tears (at the crossroads of the Skuldask Road and Thundar’s Ride), and countless other out-of-the-way locales known only to the Forgotten Folk. Cities such as Baldur’s Gate, Elturel, Elversult, Evereska, Mithral Hall, Neverwinter, Scardale, Silverymoon, Sundabar, Suzail, Thentia, and Waterdeep, also contain one or more nexus points of the Trail of Mists.